RUDRAPRAYAG: Twelve tourists were killed and 14 injured when a tempo traveller skidded off the road and fell into Alaknanda river on Badrinath national highway here in Uttarakhand on Saturday, officials said.

The vehicle carrying 26 people, most of them from Delhi, rolled 500 metres down the gorge, they said.

The tourists were on the way to Chopta when the accident happened around 11 am near Raitoli village, they added.

Ten people died on the spot while two others succumbed later during treatment in hospital, according to the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Rescue and relief personnel had to navigate extremely adverse terrain to reach the badly mangled vehicle.

During the accident, a woman was flung from the vehicle and she was rescued from the bushes around 80 metres off the road, the SDRF said.

Garhwal Inspector General of Police KS Nagnyal said the vehicle was carrying the tourists to Chopta. He said 26 people were in the vehicle and most of them were residents of Delhi.

On Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s instructions, seven persons seriously injured in the accident were taken to AIIMS, Rishikesh through heli-ambulance, while six others are being treated at Rudraprayag district hospital, he said.

The chief minister has directed the district magistrate to investigate the incident, officials said.

CM Dhami later reached AIIMS, Rishikesh and enquired about the condition of the injured and urged doctors to provide necessary treatment to them.

The families of the injured have been contacted and they were assured of all possible help from the state government, the CM said. Officials have also been directed to ensure effective control of such accidents in the state, he said.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and other leaders expressed grief over the loss of life.

Terming the accident heartbreaking, the Prime Minister’s Office posted on X, “My deepest condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in this. Along with this, I wish all the injured a speedy recovery.”

Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to those injured in the accident, the PMO posted.

President Murmu condoled the loss of lives in the accident and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said,”The local administration and SDRF teams are engaged in relief and rescue work and all possible help is being provided to the injured.”

In a post on X, Vice President Dhankhar said he was pained to hear about the loss of lives in the accident.

Reader correspondent